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Paul Cronfelt
In Biggles & Co, Paul Cronfelt was a partner of Cronfelt and Carstairs, a firm of bullion dealers which managed large shipments of gold between England and countries on the continent. Unknown to his partner Carstairs, Cronfelt was in league with a German organisation headed by Erich von Stalhein whose mission was to steal the gold, with (so Biggles suspected) some form of official blessing from Germany. Cronfelt's role was to advise von Stalhein of the firm's gold movements, leaving the organisation to do the rest. After several gold robberies which came with the crash or disappearance of the aircraft carrying the loads, regular airlines refused further shipments. For a while, Cronfelt was able to employ a German airline for the purpose but after a few more robberies, British insurance companies then refused to cover shipments by that company. Cronfelt then proposed to start his own airline. Sir Guy Brunswick, acting on the advice of Colonel Raymond, recommended Biggles for it. Von Stalhein, who had dealt with Biggles during the First World War was reluctant but Cronfelt had no choice in the matter. To refuse to invite Biggles to the scheme would have raised suspicions. Biggles soon began to suspect that Cronfelt was not above board. For one thing, he seemed to know things which only the gold robbery organisation would know. When Biggles returned from his first mission, Cronfelt seemed to know that the gold had been robbed. He explained that he got the information from the manager of the Bank of France, but this, as Biggles knew, was untrue. Time and again, Cronfelt seemed disappointed or even upset when Biggles got through with shipment after shipment. Cronfelt must have felt that time was running out and began to think of feathering his own nest. When Algy was captured, von Stalhein called Biggles, telling him that a packet of diamonds he was going to be asked to carry should be handed over as ransom. Cronfelt must have seen this diamond shipment as a golden opportunity. He handed Biggles an empty box. Biggles was subsequently captured and brought before von Stalhein. Both former adversaries were just as surprised to find the box empty. Unfortunately for Cronfelt, von Stalhein chose to believe Biggles when he insisted that he did not know the box was empty and sensed that Cronfelt was playing a double game. When Biggles, Algy and Ginger escaped from von Stalhein and returned to England, they found Cronfelt at the airfield with a large briefcase wanting to be taken to the continent urgently. Biggles, by this time, was highly suspicious. He sent Cronfelt to the buffet to wait while the aircraft was being prepared. He then switched the contents of the briefcase for books and summoned Colonel Raymond. When Cronfelt returned, he was confronted by Biggles, Raymond and his policemen. Cronfelt tried to shoot his way out and almost made it to his car. But running along the tarmac, he met someone who shot him dead, took the briefcase and then departed in a German aircraft which had been taxying nearby. Biggles was certain the killer must have been von Stalhein despatching someone who had betrayed him. Among the contents of Cronfelt's briefcase was the packet of diamonds Biggles had been intended to carry as well as the cash from Cronfelt and Carstairs. Category:People Category:Biggles characters Category:Interwar era characters